AGC Glass Europe’s latest online sustainability report covers the company’s environmental achievements for 2019, as they relate to the separate Building and Industrial Glass and Automotive Divisions.

The company’s first carbon footprint calculation was performed in 2009 and has been repeated every three years.

The ratio and - on the basis of the same perimeter - the results have improved ever since.

The latest footprint calculation led to a result of 1:11 (ie 3,800,000 tonnes of CO2 emitted versus 41,000,000 tonnes of CO2 avoided), meaning that for each tonne of CO2 emitted by its activities, nearly 11 tonnes of CO2 are avoided thanks to the use of AGC products. 
AGC started to install PV panels and heat recovery installations in 2009.

Since then, electricity production has steadily increased to 29,354 MWh of recovered and self-generated energy in 2019. 
On a comparable basis, per tonne of glass sold, Primary Operations has reduced its direct CO2 emissions by 14% since 2002.

There has been a reduction of approximately 67% in specific dust emissions since 1999.

In addition, from 1998 to 2019, the company has managed to reduce water consumption by 73% on a comparable basis. Furthermore, today, the amount of solid waste produced by the group is approximately 252,000 tonnes/year, of which around 97% is further recycled or recovered on site by suppliers or contractors.

Some 64% of all raw materials are transported by ship or train, taking about 51,500 trucks per year off the road. In 2019, about 40,000 tonnes of finished glass products were transported in combined train and truck transport, taking about 2000 trucks per year off the road.

AGC Glass Europe recycles some 1,000,000 tonnes of cullet per year, saving about 1,150,000 tonnes of raw material and 300,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions.

www.agc-glass.eu